The City, The Valley, and Synchronicities Galore!

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This morning, we bid Eddy the breakfast man, and our other friends at the Andrews Hotel adieu, and set off to explore

The City

. For anyone who has never been to downtown San Francisco, it is difficult to describe the sheer size of the stores, but we will attempt to here. The Urban Outfitters on Ellis and Powell St. is literally 4 stories tall. There are staircases that take you from each level to the next, each with fabulous punk-rock-emo-disgruntled youth chic apparel and accessories. We thought of A.J. when we saw the USB turntable, but realized we didn't have enough room in our suitcases! Allen also visited, of course, the Apple Store, which is absolutely brilliant. The first floor is filled from wall to wall with Macs and iPods set up so you can play with them as much as you want. But, the coolest part is that you take a glass staircase (really!!!) up to the second level, where there is a theatre-style section with an Apple guru giving live demonstrations of things you can do on a Mac. Allen was walking around with Apple t-shirt and kept getting nervous stares from employees until one finally asked him, "Do you work for Apple?" Allen quickly responded, "Not yet!" After brief visits to the 4-story (!) Ross, and the 3-story Anthropologie, we made for lunch at Lori's Diner.

We looked at trolleys on Market Street and decided against following the christmas shopping crowd to Fisherman's Wharf. Instead, we returned to our hotel and drove across town to Golden Gate Park, which reminded us a lot of the trees and winding streets of Rome. Beautiful arches and bay windows peppered the traditional San Franscisco architecture, leaving Marce in awe on more than one occasion. Our first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean on this trip happened as we reached the Great Highway just west of Golden Gate Park. Allen was absolutely dumbfounded by the sheer size of the waves on the Pacific Coast, not to mention the rocks jutting out of the water in the distance.

We wound our way up through rush hour traffic to the northern end of

The City

where we reached a marvel of modern engineering - Golden Gate Bridge - or at least we thought we had. As we approached, a thick fog rolled through covering the entire bay. Fog horns echoed in the distance, announcing the desires of many barges gain entrance through the Golden Gate. At last, the fog cleared long enough for us to take a handful of pictures of the shining red structure. We drove across the great divide, and wished

The City

farewell.

Driving north towards the Sonoma Valley wine country, we passed the Birkenstock USA headquarters - literally in the middle of nowhere, overlooking Highway 101 from a mountainside. The California countryside is absolutely spectacular! Memories of the mountains and valleys of Colombia filled our thoughts as we pulled off the highway for coffee and gas at Santa Rosa.

Well, coffee and gas has potentially turned into a two-night stay, and a Christmas Eve in Santa Rosa. The town is straight out of a movie. With everything from local coffee shops with live music on every corner, to electric car dealerships and Charles Schulzt (yes, that Charles Schultz - of Charlie Brown fame!), Santa Rosa is everything Gainesville could be, when it grows up. We're staying in the historic area at a beautiful inn called the Hotel La Rose. On our way to dinner, we came across a musician who shared his guitar and his music with us. Marce and Noah took turns serenading the streetlamps, as Allen was approached, yet again, by someone asking him if he worked for Apple. "Not yet!"

As we like to say, "trust your synchronicities!" We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas Eve tomorrow! Peace, and goodnight!

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Photos

Market Street Trolley
The levers, the levers!!! (see Eddie Izzard for details)

Golden Gate Fog
The bridge is there...we promise!

Marce and Noah
Impromptu coffee shop concert

Charlie Brown!!!
Wait a minute! Who's that trying to make off with the ice cream sundae!!!

Comments

[Mashenka]

Merry Christmas
Mis amores Feliz Dia de Navidad. Me han encantado las cronicas recibidas. Se ven Felices y eso me produce gran felicidad a mi. Gracias por la dedicacion de escribirnos a diario. Espero con ilusion la siguiente entrada. Los Amo! Besos